Sunday, April 19, 2015

South Fork Reservoir - Elko Nevada

Introduction


I've always wanted to check out South Fork State Recreation Area, located about 25 minutes south of Elko.  Being a state park in Nevada and so close to Elko, on my recent trip I decided to check it out.

South Fork Reservoir is a man-made reservoir and is popular with those looking to hit the beach, fish or put their boats on the water.  The day I went it was pretty busy but not outrageously so.

Faithful readers may recall that on my 2015 "To Do List" I had a goal of running around the man-made reservoir.  Due to waking up a bit late and not knowing for sure how or if there'd be a trail I opted just to visit.


South Fork Reservoir


After eating breakfast, I grabbed my gear and quite easily found the reservoir.  The gate was unmanned but I was honest and ponied up for my $7 entrance fee.  

They didn't have any maps or anything and after a short drive I pulled into the first area I could find and hit the beach, so to speak. I wasn't the only one there and as I walked the shore of the lake, about every 10 - 15 minutes my trip was punctuated by people fishing or just hanging out (primarily people were fishing but doing little catching though)

I figured I walked about 3 miles to my destination, which was a dam located on the north side.  Through the many friendly people I encountered while walking on the shores, I was told there was a pretty nice view on the other side of the dam -- which I found out was 100% true.

Could you run around the reservoir?  Yes, for the most part you can.  A good portion of my walk was runnable.  However, there were some parts that were filled with boulders that definitely required some scrambling or climbing back over the ridge and finding another suitable spot.

Either way, this reservoir is definitely worth the price of admission and I had a really good time checking it out:





Location where I started at


Typical stretch of "beach"













Looking north from the dam. Incredible views

Looking north from the dam. Incredible views

Settlers crossed through that area.




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